to rake up old memories
- phrasal verb
- Informal
:
revivir viejos recuerdos
- Every time I visit my childhood home, I tend to rake up old memories that make me nostalgic.
Examples
-
She didn't want to rake up old memories by talking about her past relationships.
-
Don't rake up old memories during the meeting!
-
The documentary raked up old memories for many people who had lived through the events.
-
She always rakes up old memories when she's sad.
-
Every time I visit my childhood home, I tend to rake up old memories that make me nostalgic.
-
She didn't want to rake up old memories by talking about her past relationships.
-
The documentary raked up old memories for many people who had lived through the events.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
To think about something from the past
∞
2.4
Remember something from the past
323
2.6
Think about the past, especially a time you remember
148
3.1
Make someone remember a time from the past
143
3.0
Make someone remember something from the past
92
1.9
Remember things that happened in the past
44
4.1
To bring a memory or fact back into your mind
42
6.8
Bring something back into use after it was forgotten
26
6.0
To bring back a past feeling or quality
21
3.5
To make someone remember the past, for example a song or photo
20
3.7
To remember something from the past
18
6.2
To mention an unpleasant or forgotten memory from the past
12
4.4
To think back over the events or steps that led to something
5
4.5
Help someone remember something they forgot
2
6.3
Think about something that happened in the past to remember it
1
7.4
Cause people to remember old hurts or problems
1
6.8
To talk about bad things from the past that are better left forgotten
To bring up old arguments or painful memories again
To keep talking about old mistakes or bad events unnecessarily
To make old feelings or memories strong again
Make a feeling, interest, or memory come back
Antonyms
How Recalled
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase uses a physical metaphor—'rake' (gather/stir) + 'up' applied to 'old memories'—so the idea of bringing or stirring past recollections back into attention is inferable from the constituents. However, this is a figurative extension rather than a literal action, so while the general sense is guessable, the idiomatic usage and nuance may not be fully predictable to a B1 learner without some exposure.
Etymology
Rake up old memories may come from the image of using a rake to pull leaves or soil and bring buried things back to the surface. Just as a rake shows what was hidden, the phrase means 'bring back' old memories, often ones you might prefer to forget.